Sunday, July 30, 2006

Loopy for Lawrence

It's the path of least resistance: I like D.H. Lawrence. Sure, the writing is a bit ornamental, but for his time, it was risky. It said something. And despite more than eight decades since the book was published, Women in Love is still interesting, provocative, and readable.

I suppose I like this book in particular because the main characters are women, and they're rather well depicted. They're sassy and they're unconvention -- not to mention daring. Here's to books that have female protagonists.

Quotes:

"If one jumps over the edge, one is bound to land somewhere."

"He lay sick and unmoved, in pure opposition to everything. He knew how near to breaking was the vessel that held his life. He knew also how strong and durable it was. And he did not care. Better a thousand times take one's chance with death, than accept a life one did not want. But best of all to persist and persist, and persist for ever, till one were satisfied in life."

"And at last he came to high road. It had distracted him to struggle blindly through the maze of darkness. But now, he must take a direction. And he did not even know where he was. But he must take a direction now. Nothing would be resolved by merely walking, walking away. He had to take a direction."

"'...I think that a new world is a development from this world, and that to isolate oneself with one other person isn't to find a new world at all, but only to secure oneself in one's illusions.'
Ursula looked out of the window. In her soul she began to wrestle, and she was frightened. She was alsway frightened of words, because she knew that mere word-force could always make her believe what she did not believe."

"He turned away. Either the heart would break or cease to care. Best cease to care. Whatever the mystery which has brought forth man and the universe, it is a non-human mystery, it has its own great ends, man is not the criterion. Best leave it all to the vast, creative, non-human mystery. Best strive with oneself only, not with the universe."

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